Rays prospects and winter leagues: Arizona Fall League underway

This offseason, we’ll take a weekly look at Rays players in the various offseason leagues. The Arizona Fall League kicking off is the perfect time to start.

Hitters

OF Ryan Boldt, Arizona Fall League

This week: 8 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 4 K
Offseason: 8 AB, .250 BA/.250 OBP/.250 SLG

Boldt missed the last two months of the season with Double-A Montgomery. It was poor timing for the 2016 second-round pick, who was in the midst of a breakout season. He had seven home runs in 273 plate appearances after only hitting six in his first 680.

SS Lucius Fox, AFL

This week: 14 AB, 4 R, 5 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K, 3/3 SB
Offseason: 14 AB, .357 BA/.400 OBP/.571 SLG

After finishing his season in Double A, Fox’s is off to a hot start leading off for Peoria. He’s tied for second in the AFL in steals.

OF Joe McCarthy, AFL

This week: 7 AB, 2 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Offseason: 7 AB, .429 BA/.556 OBP/.429 SLG

Like Boldt, McCarthy missed quite a bit of time this season due to injuries. In his first two appearances, he was the designated hitter. He will need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason.

C Rene Pinto, Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional

This week: 4 AB
Offseason: 4 AB, .000 BA/.000 OBP/.000 SLG

In 72 games for Class A-Advanced Charlotte, Pinto batted .301 with a .759 OPS and threw out 47 percent of attempted basestealers. He may have a chance to catch Carlos Zambrano this offseason.

C David Rodriguez, LVBP

This week: 5 AB, 1 R, 4 H, 1 2B, 1 RBI
Offseason: 5 AB, .800/.800/1.000

Last offseason, Rodriguez only caught seven games for his club. He played first base in his first start this offseason.

Pitchers

LHP Kyle Bird, Liga Mexicana del Pacífico

This week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
Offseason: 1 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP

For the second straight season, Bird spent time with Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. Lefties had a .537 OPS against him.

RHP Brandon Lawson, AFL

This week: 2 ²⁄₃ IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 0 K
Offseason: 2 ²⁄₃ IP, 6.75 ERA, 1.88 WHIP

Lawson is one of two South Florida Bulls the Rays sent to the AFL this offseason. He bounced between the rotation and bullpen for Charlotte and Montgomery, but both of his AFL appearances so far have been in relief.

LHP Dalton Moats, AFL

This week: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Offseason: 2 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP

Like Lawson, Moats wasn’t on Peoria’s preliminary roster. Righties torched him for a .909 OPS with Montgomery, but he limited lefties to a .463 OPS.

LHP Luis Moncada, LVBP

This week: one-third IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
Offseason: one-third IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Moncada, 20, made his LVBP debut. In his second season with Princeton, he cut his ERA from 5.59 to 3.13 thanks to a reduced walk rate and greatly improved strikeout rate.

RHP Phoenix Sanders, AFL

This week: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 0 K
Offseason: 1 ¹⁄₃ IP, 27.00 ERA, 5.25 WHIP

Sanders, the Rays’ other Bull in the AFL, did not have the start he envisioned this offseason. The AFL hitters he’s facing are probably the toughest competition yet in his career.

All stats are through games of Oct. 13.